Controlled entertainment spending account

ABSTRACT

A computer-based method for allocating funds in pre-established accounts for use by customers, by creating for each customer a customer account file containing a record of funds deposited for the customer, and limiting how the funds in each customer account file may be spent on audio and video entertainment in the form of goods and services in response to command instructions from the fund depositor, wherein the limit on the funds is a limit on transaction amount or a limit according to content on the audio or video entertainment on which the funds may be spent. Computer-based systems implementing the inventive method are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/478,051 filed Jan. 15, 2000, which, in turn, isa Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/876,958 filed Jun.16, 1997, which in turn, which issued on Mar. 28, 2000 as U.S. Pat. No.6,044,360, and which, in turn, is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/585,173 filed Apr. 16, 1996. This applicationalso claims benefit of Provisional U.S. Patent Application Ser. No.60/244,800 filed Nov. 1, 2000. The disclosures of all four applicationsare incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to systems for transferring funds,such as periodic allowance payments, by an account holder from apreestablished account to a third party recipient for the fundsdesignated by the account holder for use in purchasing audio and videoentertainment in the form of goods and services, for example, over theinternet. In particular, the present invention relates to systems fortransferring funds in which the account holder is provided with controlover how the funds are spent by the third party recipient, either withrespect to content or dollar amount.

[0003] ATM and debit card systems have gained wide acceptance as meansfor performing currency transactions. In addition to providing theability to withdraw cash from a bank account or a credit card line, itis now possible to pay for a point-of-sale transaction with anelectronic funds transfer. The computer networks that support ATM anddebit card systems make it possible to design transactions that gobeyond the conventional exchange of cash for goods or services.

[0004] For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,269 discloses a system that usesa card similar to a debit card to control access within a recreationalfacility such as an amusement park. The card replaces the tickets ortokens conventionally used to control access to amusement rides andarcade games. Thus, a parent may provide a child with a pre-paid cardencoded with sufficient credit to ensure an enjoyable day ofentertainment.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,241 discloses a system that uses a cardsimilar to a debit card to track the spending of casino promotionalfunds by individual gamblers. The purpose of the card is to preventgamblers from spending promotional funds on food, or even in othercasinos, and to ensure that the promotional funds are only spent ongambling within the issuing casino.

[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 5,350,906 discloses a debit card system in whichfunds may be electronically transferred by an account holder to a thirdparty recipient by the issuance of a fixed currency limit debit card tothe recipient at his or her location. One advantage to this system isthat the recipient need not have a preestablished ATM or debit cardaccount with the issuing bank or other institution. The system may beused by parents to issue periodic allowance payments or spending money,for example, to a son or daughter away at college in a distant city.

[0007] In each of the foregoing systems, however, the funds transferoris not provided with control over how the money is spent by thetransferee, or provided with an accounting thereafter. For example, theparent who buys their child the pre-paid card for amusement park accessof U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,269 has no way of preventing the child fromspending the entire card on video games and cotton candy, or of evenknowing later whether this has happened.

[0008] The casino issuing the card of U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,241 may bewilling to allow a portion of the funds to be spent on food or lodgingif a limit could be established, and if it could later know how muchmoney was actually spent on gambling. It would also be useful for thecasino to know how the money was actually gambled for purposes ofincluding a gambler on more specific future promotions, such as a slotmachine promotion or a blackjack promotion.

[0009] A parent issuing the fixed currency limit debit card of U.S. Pat.No. 5,350,906 to a son or daughter away at college has no way to ensurethat most of the funds are spent at the college bookstore and notwithdrawn as cash or spent on rounds of drinks at the local pub. Thereis no way for the parent to know how the money was actually spent.

[0010] In the coming months, many digitalized forms of entertainmentwill be available for downloading from the internet for a fee. It isexpected, for example, that Napster will charge a fee payable, in part,to the copyright holder of any music file that is copied. Many internetservice providers are planning to establish similar sites for sellingmusic content, either by charging a fixed fee per file transfer, or bycharging a periodic, i.e., monthly, subscription rate. One can envisionsimilar services becoming available for music videos, movies, videogames, and similar digitalized forms of entertainment.

[0011] Once digitalized forms of entertainment become available forcopying from the internet at a reasonable fee, parents and other fundproviders will want to control how much money their children/fundrecipients spend per week or per month on obtaining copies of theentertainment, and to control the content of the entertainment that theyare able to access.

[0012] A need exists for a system in which an account holder mayelectronically transfer funds from a preestablished account to a thirdparty recipient with limits set on how the money may be spent and thenreceive a subsequent accounting of how the money was actually spent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0013] This need is met by the present invention. It is an object of thepresent invention to provide a system and a computer-based method inwhich account holders may transfer funds from preestablished accounts tothird party recipients and then receive an itemized statement of how therecipients spent the funds.

[0014] Another object of the invention is to provide a system and acomputer-based method in which account holders may transfer funds frompreestablished accounts to third party recipients and set limits on thegoods or services for which the funds are spent, or on the amounts whichmay be spent for certain goods or services.

[0015] Therefore, according to one aspect of the present invention, asystem is provided allocating funds in pre-established accounts,including:

[0016] a controller process programmed: (a) to process data; (b) tocreate for each customer a customer account file; and (c) to transferfunds from customer account files to vendors of audio and videoentertainment in the form of goods and services, in response to customercommand instructions;

[0017] an input device for supplying command instructions to thecontroller processor; and

[0018] a data storage device associated with the controller processor inwhich file records of the customer account files created by thecontroller processor are stored, including information on the amounts offunds deposited for the customer;

[0019] wherein the controller processor is programmed to process andstore information in the storage device for each customer account, inresponse to command instructions from fund depositors, limiting how thefunds may be spent on the audio and video entertainment, wherein thelimit on the funds is either a limit on transaction amounts, or a limitaccording to content on the audio or video entertainment on which thefunds may be spent.

[0020] Preferred systems in accordance with this aspect of the presentinvention permit fund depositors to establish periodic limits on theamount of each transaction by the single transaction, day, week, monthor so forth. Another preferred system establishes periodic funddeposits, essentially equivalent to an allowance payment by the day,week or month. The periodic deposit may be performed automatically. Thepresent invention also includes systems in which periodic deposits aremade independent of limits on transaction or content. Therefore,according to another aspect of the present invention, a system forallocating funds in pre-established accounts is provided, including:

[0021] a controller processor programmed:

[0022] (a) to process data;

[0023] (b) to create for each customer a customer account file;

[0024] (c) to transfer funds from customer account files to vendors ofaudio and video entertainment in the form of goods and services, inresponse to customer command instructions; and

[0025] (d) to process command instructions from depositors to transferfunds periodically to customer account files;

[0026] an input device for supplying command instructions to thecontroller processor; and

[0027] a data storage device associated with the controller processor inwhich file records of the customer account files created by saidcontroller processor are stored, including information on the amounts offunds deposited periodically for the customers by fund depositors.

[0028] In yet another preferred system of the present invention, anitemized statement is issued to the fund depositor periodically, i.e.,weekly or monthly, providing an accounting of how the funds were spent.In the situation of a parent making an allowance payment, a statementwould be sent, similar to a bank or credit card statement, listing theaudio and video entertainment in the form of goods and services thatwere purchased.

[0029] Nevertheless, the present invention also includes systems inwhich such an accounting is not provided, with the primary advantagebeing the ability to limit transaction amounts. The entertainmentcontent may alternatively or additionally be limited according to genre,artist or content rating.

[0030] According to another aspect of the present invention,computer-based methods for operating the systems of the presentinvention are provided. Methods in accordance with this aspect of thepresent invention include the steps of:

[0031] creating for each customer a customer account file including aprimary file containing a record of funds deposited for the customer;and

[0032] limiting how the funds in the customer account file may be spenton audio and video entertainment in the form of goods and services inresponse to command instruction from the fund depositor;

[0033] wherein the limit on the funds is a limit on transaction amountor a limit according to content on the audio or video entertainment onwhich the funds may be spent.

[0034] Preferred methods according to this embodiment of the inventionprovide for the establishment of limits in the amounts of transactions.The limit may be periodic, either by the transaction, day, week, month,etc. Another preferred method provides for periodic fund deposits, bythe day, week or month. The periodic deposit may be performedautomatically. The present invention therefore also includes methods inwhich periodic deposits are made independent of limits on transaction orcontent. Therefore, according to another aspect of the presentinvention, a method for allocating funds in pre-established accounts foruse by customers is provided, including:

[0035] creating for each customer a customer account file containing arecord of funds deposited for the customer for spending on audio andvideo entertainment in the form of goods and services; and

[0036] periodically depositing funds into customer account files inresponse to command instructions from the fund depositor.

[0037] The system of the present invention is not limited to currencyaccounts, but also includes credit accounts, within which the accountholders may establish a sub-line of credit that may be drawn against bya third party recipient. Thus, for purposes of the present invention,the term “funds” is defined as including credit lines extended toaccount holders and third party recipients, as well as currencydeposited by account holders. The account holder may require the thirdparty recipient to repay the drawn credit, and the account may thus beemployed to control a young person's use of credit, but at the same timeteach them how to use the credit responsibly.

[0038] The system of the present invention thus provides a tool for awage earner to provide spending money to a dependent, and at the sametime teach the dependent how to budget their money and manage cash flow,while maintaining some control over how the money is spent. Initially,the limits on the types of purchases may be employed as guidance withrespect to the appropriateness of purchases, and to discipline thedependent to control their spending habits.

[0039] Other features of the present invention will be pointed out inthe following description and claims, which disclose the principles ofthe present invention and the best modes which are presentlycontemplated for carrying them out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the representative system hardware ofthe present invention; and

[0041]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the system of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0042] Referring now to the drawings, and initially FIG. 1, the systemof the present invention is comprised of a computer processor 12, hereinreferred to as a controller processor, coupled to a data storage device14 such as a memory device and in communication through phone line 15with at least one input device 16 through which fund transfer commandinstructions are received and through phone line 17 with at least oneoutput device 18 through which electronic fund transfers are executed.The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 also includes output device 20 forgenerating a file record containing information on electronic fundtransfer payees, which is described in greater detail hereinafter.

[0043] The system may be a local, entirely self-contained internalnetwork of input and output devices under the absolute control of thesystem operator, as would be the case when the system is employed by acasino or an amusement park. Alternatively, the system may be incommunication with an external network of input and output devices, suchas a banking, credit or ATM network, or the internet.

[0044] The controller processor of the present invention can beessentially any mainframe computer processor or plurality of processors,or any computer workstation capable of interfacing with the network tobe employed and executing the volume of command instructions supplied bythe network. The control programs to be run by the controller processorfor operating the system of the present invention are essentiallyconventional, once the objectives of the present invention aredescribed.

[0045] The data storage devices associated with the controller processorcan be essentially any conventional memory storage device, typically asemiconductor memory in combination with a hard disk drive or a CD-ROMdrive with a compact disk. The memory device is employed to storeinformation on the preestablished accounts from which account holderstransfer funds to third party recipients. It will be assumed forpurposes of the present invention that the system operators have methodsof establishing accounts and placing money or establishing credit lineswithin these accounts and that proper accounting procedures are in placeto track the various transactions, all of which are standard in theindustry and well known to those skilled in the art.

[0046] For local self-contained systems, the controller processor is incommunication with the internal network of input and output devicesthrough cables or telecommunication lines. When the system is incommunication with an external network, telecommunication lines arenearly exclusively employed. Telecommunication lines are defined asincluding wireless communications.

[0047] Essentially any input device capable of supplying commandinstructions to the controller processor from account holders and thirdparty recipients is suitable for use as an input device for the presentinvention. For purposes of the present invention, command instructionswill be considered to be issued by an account holder or a third partyrecipient if the instructions are issued by another individual on theirbehalf. For example, a bank employee may issue command instructionsrequested by an account holder to transfer funds for access by the thirdparty recipient. A store employee may issue command instructionsrequested by the third party recipient to obtain an electronic fundtransfer to pay for goods and services in a point-of-sale purchase.

[0048] External banking, credit and ATM networks have already beenestablished using as combination input/output devices stations thatemploy magnetic card readers in combination with manual input devicessuch as keypads, touch screens and the like, through which informationrequired for the transaction may be entered, such as the transactionamount, account password, and so forth. One example of such a station isan ATM. Another example is the magnetic card reader/keypad employed forpoint-of-sale transactions to obtain bank approval of credit card anddebit card transactions. Such stations also serve as output devices forthe systems that they serve. The ATM is adapted to deliver cash, print areceipt and relay messages from the network processor via a CRT. Themagnetic card reader relays messages from the network processor via anLCD, and is also adapted to print a receipt. When the system of thepresent invention is adapted to communicate with such an externalnetwork, the fund transfer command instructions may be issued by thethird party recipients through such input devices, which will alsofunction as output devices for the system, delivering cash, relayingmessages from the controller processor and printing receipts.

[0049] Otherwise, essentially any conventional manual input device maybe employed, particularly with local, internally self-contained systemsin accordance with the present invention or with systems operated overthe internet. Such devices include keypads, touch screens, mouse andcursor systems, and the like. It is not essential that magneticallyencoded cards and magnetic card readers be employed.

[0050] Likewise, any device capable of relaying messages from thecontroller processor to the account holder or third party recipient isalso suitable for use as an output device with systems of the presentinvention. Examples of devices include CRT's, LCD's, printers, and thelike. In the simplest of local, internally self-contained systems, themachine vending of cash and printing of receipts is not contemplated.Instead, an employee of the system operator would attend to such tasks,receiving prompts from the controller processor through an outputdisplay device.

[0051] A particular advantage of the present invention is that theaccount holder is provided with a periodic accounting of how the thirdparty recipient of funds has spent the money accessible to them. Thiswould be in the form of a statement issued daily, weekly, monthly, andthe like, detailing cash withdrawals and debit card transfers. This isalso performed by essentially routine simple means ranging from e-mailto desktop publishing, or as complex as the systems employed by bankingand credit institution for generating periodic statements forconventional accounts. Such means are very well known and require nodescription here.

[0052] As noted above, it is not necessary that the system of thepresent invention employ magnetically encoded cards to provide systemaccess to account holders and third party recipients. Instead, access tothe system may be obtained through the entry of the requisiteinformation by way of a manual input device, such as a keyboard, that isin communication with the system, for example, through the internet. Theinformation may be entered directly by the account holder or third partyrecipient, or on their behalf by an employee of the system operator orfund transfer payee.

[0053] However, the use of magnetic cards encoded with accountinformation is particularly preferred for the sake of convenience. Thecards also eliminate the need for the system operator to hire employeesto receive and enter information that would be submitted directly to thesystem by the account holder or third party recipient. In other words,it is more economical for a bank to permit a third party recipient toaccess cash via an ATM, rather that require the recipient to presentthemselves to a bank teller. Magnetic cards issued to third partyrecipients will be encoded with an identifier correlated to thesecondary file of the preestablished account. The encoding ofinformation fields on the magnetic stripe of a magnetic card is wellknown and essentially conventional and also need not be described here.

[0054] Turning now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated in block diagram formthe computer-based method of the present invention, that shall bediscussed with reference to the system depicted in FIG. 1. Typically,the computer processor 12 creates in memory device 14 associatedtherewith customer account file 30 containing a record of fundsdeposited by the account holder. The account holder inputs commandinstructions 32 input device 16, typically a computer terminal or workstation, which are transmitted by telephone lines 15 to computerprocessor 12 to establish a secondary file in the customer account. Theaccount customer then inputs command instructions 34, usuallycontemporaneously with the establishment of the secondary file using thesame input device, to designate a third party recipient permitted accessto the secondary file. Alternatively, the third party recipient can bedesignated at a later time from the same or different input device.

[0055] The account customer then inputs command instructions 36 totransfer to the secondary file at least a portion of the record of fundscontained in the primary file representing deposited funds accessible tothe third party recipient. Again, this is usually done contemporaneouslywith the establishment of the secondary file and the designation of athird party recipient using the same input device. However, this stepcan also be performed at a later time from the same or different inputdevice.

[0056] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the account customerinputs command instructions 38 to designate payees of funds to bewithdrawn by the third party recipient subject to a limit on the amountof funds that may be withdrawn. Again, this may be donecontemporaneously with the establishment of the secondary file, thedesignation of the third party recipient and the transfer of funds fromthe primary file using the same input device, or this step may beperformed at a different time using the same or different input device.

[0057] The computer processor 12 then verifies each withdrawal from thesecondary file requested by the third party recipient 40 to determinewhether it is subject to a limit in the amount of the transaction, andwhether that limit has been exceeded. At the same time, the computerprocessor verifies that there are funds available in the secondary fileto complete the transaction (not shown). The computer processor 12 sendsa disapproval signal 42 if there is a transaction limit that has beenexceeded, or an approval signal 44 if there is no transaction limit orif there is a transaction limit that has not been exceeded, alongtelephone lines 17 to output device 18. The approval or disapprovalsignal is also conditioned on the availability of funds in the secondaryfile (not shown). Typically output device 18 is part of a computerterminal or workstation that also includes an input device (not shown)through which third party recipients input electronic fund transferrequests.

[0058] The computer processor 12 also stores in memory device 14associated therewith a file record of information 46 on each selectedpayee of funds and corresponding payment amounts. Periodically, thecomputer processor 12 provides to the account holder 48 the file recordof information on fund payees and corresponding payment amounts in theform of an itemized statement generated by output device 20, typically ahigh volume printer.

[0059] The controlled spending accounts of U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,360 canbe established allocating a certain amount that a child or other fundrecipient can spend per week or per month on entertainment. In thecontext of entertainment supplied over the internet, this would includemusic files, music video files, movie files or video game files. Theamount set by the parent or other fund provider can be a fixed amountcorresponding to a predetermined number of file transfers forentertainment providers that charge per file transfer, or it can all orpart of a subscription fee for entertainment providers that charge aflat rate periodic subscription fee.

[0060] The entertainment need not be derived from the internet. Thepresent invention may also be used with other pay-per-use services, suchas pay-per-view movies and music videos or pay-per-use video gamesoffered by cable television providers. Because digital cable televisiontransmission is not universal, the invention is thus applicable as wellto non-digital forms of entertainment.

[0061] The entertainment need not even be derived from a remotetransmission. The invention is applicable as well to retail outlets suchas establishments that rent or sell video taped and digital movies,music videos and video games, or music in the form of compact discs,analog or digital audio tapes, and the like. Store accounts fundedperiodically by parents or other fund providers can be established inwhich the parent or fund provider can control the content of the movie,music, music video or video game that their child/fund recipient is ableto purchase or rent.

[0062] The parental controls of U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,360 can thus be setto prevent access to entertainment that a parent or other fund providerfinds inappropriate for their child or fund recipient. For example,music can be blocked according to genre, be it psychedelic, heavy metal,rap or hip-hop, or particular artists may be blocked. The existingvoluntary music ratings format could be employed to block music bearingcertain content ratings. The invention can also be adapted to whatevermusic rating system may be developed in the future.

[0063] Similar controls can be established for music videos so thatinappropriate artists, genres, or ratings may be blocked. Likewise,movies having inappropriate genres or content ratings may also beblocked. Finally, video games may also be blocked according to genre orbased upon the voluntary system presently in effect for rating thecontent of video games. Under any circumstance, a parent or other fundprovider will be able to block a specific, individual song, music video,movie or video game.

[0064] Alternatively, the entertainment supplier may establish an“adult” category of music, music videos, movies or video games thatparents or other fund providers are able to block. The advantagesupplied by the present invention is that the entertainment supplierneed not ban all of those under 18 from accessing this category.Instead, only the category needs to be established, with parents orother fund providers being given control over at what age, if ever,their child/fund recipient may access the category using the fundsprovided.

[0065] The fund provider does not become an absolute censor. Rather, thefund provider is given the opportunity to designate certain classes ofentertainment that they will not pay for, leaving the fund recipient tospend their own funds to obtain access.

[0066] The supplier of the entertainment may only offer the parentalcontrols, and need not offer the controlled spending account. Forexample, Visa-branded controlled spending allowance cards are presentlybeing issued that can be loaded periodically with a set amount of anallowance, which can then be spent on entertainment. Thus, the spendingcontrol portion can be provided by a card-issuing institution, while thecontent control will be supplied by the entertainment provider. Byaccepting the controlled spending card, the entertainment provideressentially supplies parents or other fund providers with a means tocontrol the amount their children/fund recipients are spending weekly ormonthly independently or jointly coupled to the content controls thatthe entertainment provider has established.

[0067] The computer-based methods of the present invention do notrequire special or unique computer programming for operation. Instead,the system features described above can be programmed followingconventional techniques by individuals of ordinary skill.

[0068] As will be readily appreciated, numerous variations andcombinations of the features set forth above can be utilized withoutdeparting from the present invention as set forth in the claims. Suchvariations are not regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope ofthe invention, and all such variations are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for allocating funds in preestablishedaccounts comprising: a controller processor programmed: (a) to processdata; (b) to create for each customer a customer account file; and (c)to transfer funds from customer account files to vendors of audio andvideo entertainment in the form of goods and services, in response tocustomer command instructions, an input device for supplying commandinstructions to said controller processor; and a data storage deviceassociated with said controller processor in which file records of saidcustomer account files created by said controller processor are stored,including information on the amounts of funds deposited for saidcustomer; wherein said controller processor is programmed to process andstore information in said storage device for each customer account, inresponse to command instructions from fund depositors, limiting how saidfunds may be spent on said audio and video entertainment, wherein saidlimit on said funds is either a limit on transaction amount or a limitaccording to content on the audio or video entertainment on which saidfunds may be spent.
 2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising anoutput device, wherein said controller processor is programmed to storein the storage device information on each fund transfer and to supply tosaid fund depositor through said output device said stored informationon said fund transfers.
 3. The system of claim 2 , wherein said purchaseinformation is automatically supplied periodically.
 4. The system ofclaim 3 , wherein said purchase information is supplied weekly ormonthly.
 5. The system of claim 1 , wherein said customer account filecomprises a primary deposit file into which the amount of fundsdeposited is recorded, and a secondary deposit file into which at leasta portion of the deposited funds may be allocated by said controllerprocessor for use by said customer in response to command instructionsissued by said depositor, and said funds transferred from said customeraccount file to transferees in response to command instructions fromsaid customers are transferred from said secondary deposit file.
 6. Thesystem of claim 1 , wherein funds are deposited periodically to saidcustomer account files.
 7. The system of claim 6 , wherein said fundsare deposited weekly or monthly.
 8. The method of claim 1 , wherein saidfunds are deposited automatically.
 9. The system of claim 1 , whereinsaid limit on said funds is a limit on transaction amount.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9 wherein said limit on transaction amount is a periodiclimit.
 11. The system of claim 10 , wherein said periodic limit is aweekly or monthly limit.
 12. The system of claim 1 , wherein said audioor video entertainment comprises digitalized forms of entertainmentselected from the group consisting of music recordings, music videos,video games and DVD movies.
 13. The system of claim 1 , wherein saidaudio or video entertainment comprises rental video tapes.
 14. Thesystem of claim 1 , wherein said limit on said funds is a content limit.15. The system of claim 14 , wherein said content limit is according toartist, genre or content rating.
 16. A computer-based method forallocating funds in preestablished accounts for use by customers,comprising: creating for each customer a customer account filecontaining a record of funds deposited for said customer; and limitinghow said funds in said customer account file may be spent on audio andvideo entertainment in the form of goods and services in response tocommand instructions from the fund depositor; wherein said limit on saidfunds is a limit on transaction amount or a limit according to contenton the audio and video entertainment on which said funds may be spent.17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising the step of storinginformation on fund transfers.
 18. The method of claim 17 , furthercomprising the step of supplying to said fund depositor said informationon fund transfers.
 19. The method of claim 18 , wherein said supplyingstep is performed periodically.
 20. The method of claim 19 , whereinsaid supplying step is performed weekly or monthly.
 21. The method ofclaim 16 , wherein said funds are deposited periodically.
 22. The methodof claim 21 , wherein said funds are deposited weekly or monthly. 23.The method of claim 16 , wherein said funds are deposited automatically.24. The method of claim 16 , wherein said step of creating a customeraccount file comprises the steps of: creating a primary deposit filecontaining a record of funds deposited by said depositor for allocationto at least one customer; creating a secondary deposit file accessibleby a customer; and transferring to said secondary deposit file inresponse to command instructions from said depositor at least a portionof the funds deposited in said primary deposit file, representingdeposited funds for use by said customer.
 25. The method of claim 16 ,wherein said limit on funds is a limit on transaction amount.
 26. Themethod of claim 25 , wherein said limit on transaction amount is aperiodic limit.
 27. The method of claim 26 , wherein said limit ontransaction amount is a weekly or monthly limit.
 28. The method of claim16 , wherein said audio or video entertainment comprises digitalizedforms of entertainment selected from the group consisting of musicrecordings, music videos, video games and DVD movies.
 29. The method ofclaim 16 , wherein said audio or video entertainment comprises rentalvideo tapes.
 30. The method of claim 16 , wherein said limit on saidfunds is a content limit.
 31. The method of claim 30 , wherein saidcontent limit is according to artist, genre or content rating.
 32. Asystem for allocating funds in preestablished accounts comprising: acontroller processor programmed: (a) to process data; (b) to create foreach customer a customer account file; (c) to transfer funds fromcustomer account files to vendors of audio and video entertainment inthe form of goods and services, in response to customer commandinstructions; and (d) to process command instructions from depositors totransfer funds periodically to customer account files; an input devicefor supplying command instructions to said controller processor; and adata storage device associated with said controller processor in whichfile records of said customer account files created by said controllerprocessor are stored, including information on the amounts of fundsdeposited periodically for said customers by fund depositors.
 33. Thesystem of claim 32 , further comprising an output device, wherein saidcontroller processor is programmed to store in the storage deviceinformation on each fund transfer and to supply to said fund depositorthrough said output device said stored information on said fundtransfers.
 34. The system of claim 33 , wherein said purchaseinformation is automatically supplied periodically.
 35. The system ofclaim 32 , wherein said customer account file comprises a primarydeposit file into which the amount of funds deposited is recorded, and asecondary deposit file into which at least a portion of the depositedfunds may be allocated by said controller processor for use by saidcustomer in response to command instructions issued by said depositor,and said funds transferred from said customer account file totransferees in response to command instructions from said customers aretransferred from said secondary deposit file.
 36. The system of claim 32, wherein funds are deposited periodically to said customer accountfiles.
 37. The system of claim 36 , wherein said funds are depositedweekly or monthly.
 38. The method of claim 32 , wherein said funds aredeposited automatically.
 39. The system of claim 32 , wherein said audioor video entertainment comprises digitalized forms of entertainmentselected from the group consisting of music recordings, music videos,video games and DVD movies.
 40. The system of claim 32 , wherein saidaudio or video entertainment comprises rental video tapes.
 41. Acomputer-based method for allocating funds in preestablished accountsfor use by customers, comprising: creating for each customer a customeraccount file containing a record of funds deposited for said customerfor spending on audio and video entertainment in the form of goods andservices; and periodically depositing funds into customer account filesin response to command instructions from the fund depositor.
 42. Themethod of claim 41 , further comprising the step of storing informationon fund transfers.
 43. The method of claim 42 , further comprising thestep of supplying to said fund depositor said information on fundtransfers.
 44. The method of claim 43 , wherein said supplying step isperformed periodically.
 45. The method of claim 41 , wherein said fundsare deposited weekly or monthly.
 46. The method of claim 41 , whereinsaid funds are deposited automatically.
 47. The method of claim 41 ,wherein said step of creating a customer account file comprises thesteps of: creating a primary deposit file containing a record of fundsdeposited by said depositor for allocation to at least one customer;creating a secondary deposit file accessible by a customer; andtransferring to said secondary deposit file in response to commandinstructions from said depositor at least a portion of the fundsdeposited in said primary deposit file, representing deposited funds foruse by said customer.
 48. The method of claim 41 , further comprisingthe step of limiting how said funds in said customer account may bespent in response to command instructions from said fund depositor,wherein said limit on said funds is a limit on transaction amount or alimit according to content on the audio and video entertainment on whichsaid funds may be spent.
 49. The method of claim 48 , wherein said limiton funds is a limit on transaction amount.
 50. The method of claim 49 ,wherein said limit on transaction amount is a periodic limit.
 51. Themethod of claim 50 , wherein said limit on transaction amount is aweekly or monthly limit.
 52. The method of claim 41 , wherein said audioor video entertainment comprises digitalized forms of entertainmentselected from the group consisting of music recordings, music videos,video games and DVD movies.
 53. The method of claim 41 , wherein saidaudio or video entertainment comprises rental video tapes.
 54. Themethod of claim 48 , wherein said limit on said funds is a contentlimit.
 55. The method of claim 54 , wherein said content limit isaccording to artist, genre or content rating.